Mobile Social Networks Growing Rapidly, Says New Report

On Friday, Mobile Advertising Watch broke an exclusive story on forthcoming data from Informate Mobile Intelligence. The data, we’re told, shows that social networks are growing like wildfire around the globe. What’s graying, speaks several different languages and checks its Facebook and WhatsApp page about 30 times a day? The world’s fastest-growing segment of social …
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The data, we’re told, shows that social networks are growing like wildfire around the globe.

What’s graying, speaks several different languages and checks its Facebook and WhatsApp page about 30 times a day? The world’s fastest-growing segment of social networking. This the key finding in a new monthly report from Informate Mobile Intelligence that tracks and measures consumer use of smartphones in 14 countries.

“While social networking may have started as a viral craze for U.S. teenagers,” says Informate CEO Will Hodgman. “It’s steadily matured into an everyday lifestyle for many adults around the world who are now eclipsing teens and young adults as most-frequent users.”

In addition to users skewing older in age, frequent, everyday usage is on the rise.

Smartphone users in six countries including Thailand, Argentina, Malaysia, Qatar, Mexico and South Africa launched social apps a staggering 40 or more times per day (compared to American counterparts who were launching social apps an average of 17 times a day).

In every country with the exception of the US, usage of Social apps represents a third to over one half of the total time consumers spend on their mobile phones. This behavior was lead by Thailand where consumers spent 114 minutes a day (or 51 percent of total time) on Social Apps, and trailed by the US at 48 minutes (or 17 percent of total time).